Courtesy of Massachusetts Maritime Sports Information

Thanks to the overwhelming generosity of the Academy’s cadets and staff, the Massachusetts Maritime Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and members of the Buccaneer Athletic Department staff delivered nearly 275 new and unwrapped toys on Friday morning as part of the annual Christmas toy drive to benefitChildren’s Cove of Cape Cod.

Children’s Cove is a freestanding, child-friendly facility designed to ensure that victims of child sexual abuse and their non-offending family members have access to support and services in a safe, respectful and compassionate environment.  SAAC President 1/c Brittany Driscoll and Regimental Commander 1/c Alex Rozak represented the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and the cadet community, as they toured the facility along with eight members of the Massachusetts Maritime athletic staff.

Over the past four years, the Buccaneer SAAC has helped gather over 1,000 toys for Children’s Cove, and the toy drive completed another busy fall for the 25-plus members of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, which included activities to benefit the Pat Tillman Foundation as well as the bi-annual Thanksgiving Food Drive that benefitted numerous families on the Upper Cape with generous donations to St. Vincent de Paul of Wareham.  During Sea Term, SAAC members will host a pair of community basketball tournaments to benefit Special Olympics Cape Cod, and in the spring a week-long celebration of national NCAA Division III Week will include events designed to raise both funds and awareness for The Herren Project, a national anti-substance abuse initiative founded by Fall River nativeChris Herren.

For more information on Children’s Cove, please visit www.childrenscove.org.